Covet Wednesdays: Precise, Professional Shirtmaking

Much as I love my newly finished floral Archer buttondown shirt, the quality isn’t quite where I would like it to be. I tried out some new shirtmaking techniques, but I’m still not happy with how the details of my shirts, like the collars, cuffs, and even the narrow hems are turning out. They’re passable, but I want them to look better than the stuff I can afford in stores.

Before I move on to the other projects on my summer sewing list, I’d like to immerse myself in shirtmaking by working on all of the projects on my list that have collars so that I can really refine my techniques. I’m going to begin with another floral top, this time using Vogue 8772 view C (the pink one in the photo below).This pattern doesn’t have any cuffs or plackets to worry about, so I can focus my attention entirely on precise sewing, tidy hemming (preferably without steam burns), and getting the collar and stand just right.
I had this floral fabric tucked away with this shirt pattern, and I’m pretty sure I bought it on clearance to use as a wearable muslin in the hopes that it could be a go-to dress shirt pattern. I don’t think I realized it at the time, but this is definitely a quilting cotton, so it will be easy to work with, but maybe not the best to wear. If nothing else, it should work well for this experiment.

I’m really excited to begin this little shirtmaking adventure, and I hope to follow up this shirt for me with several for Sweetie. I have/know of some good shirtmaking resources that I’ll be using and sharing, but if there’s anything you love that you think I should check out, please link  in the comments! I’ll share what I learn along the way.